State-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) today said it has decided to collaborate with the global airlines body, International Air Transport Association (IATA) to address the training needs of its staffers.

AAI has 18,200 staffers on its roll and 125 airports under its management.

International Affairs

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval today vowed to collaborate more closely with India on the strategic Chabahar port development and step up bilateral cooperation in key areas like petrochemicals, steel and research.

The Port of Chabahar is a seaport in southeastern Iran. Its location lies in the Gulf of Oman. It is the only Iranian port with direct access to ocean.

US oilfield services firm Halliburton has said it will cut up to 8% of its global workforce of 80,000, citing a “challenging market environment” as the oil price continues to tumble.

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today gave its approval for increasing the Authorised Share Capital of the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC), a Central Sector Public Enterprise (CPSE) under Government of India in the Ministry of Minority Affairs from Rs. 1500 crore to Rs. 3000 crore.

NMDFC a non-profit making company, provides loans at concessional interest rates for self-employment and economic development activities to backward sections of minority communities namely, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis having family income upto Rs. 1,03,000/- in urban areas and Rs. 81,000/- in rural areas.

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) said it had commissioned a bulk terminal at Tuna Tekra, Kandla Port, with an annual handling capacity of over 20 million tonnes.

The project is expected to benefit the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh amongst others.

It is connected to the National Highway grid through NH-8A coming from Ahmedabad via Wankaner, Morbi and terminates at the Kandla Port.

With a view to ease the availability of market-priced kerosene, the government has freed sale of non-PDS kerosene from regulatory control.

Subsidised kerosene sold through public distribution system (PDS) is blue in colour while the market priced fuel is colourless.

While PDS kerosene is priced at Rs 15.14 per litre, the non-subsidised or market-priced fuel comes for Rs 27.68 a litre.

Telecom operator Reliance Communications and Facebook today announced a tie-up to provide free access to 33 websites – an initiative that aims to encourage more people to use the Internet.

These websites are across eight categories– social media, news, career, education and knowledge, sports, health and social welfare and search engine Bing.

The service has been initially launched for Reliance customers in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

ICICI Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Chanda Kochhar claimed that this is the country’s first digital bank on a mobile phone.

One can fund the e-wallet from any bank account in the country and start transacting immediately. It requires no documentation or branch visit.

The Reserve Bank has asked banks to tighten monitoring of export finance in the wake the over- invoicing scam in some of the accounts of UCO Bank recently detected by Enforcement Directorate.

It is further reiterated that banks should exercise proper due diligence and ensure compliance with KYC (know your customer) and AML ( anti-money laundering) guidelines so that only bona-fide export advances flow into India

Sports

Novi Digital Entertainment Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Star India Private Limited, has secured certain media rights relating to the Indian Premier League for a cumulative Rs 302.2 crore over a three-season period.

Supreme Court today stayed the Delhi High Court judgement barring Prasar Bharati from sharing with cable operators through Doordarshan (DD) channels the live feed of the 2015 Cricket World Cup on which ESPN and Star have exclusive broadcasting rights.

In Grenke Chess Classic ,Viswanathan Anand’s campaign ended on a sour note as he lost to English Grandmaster Michael Adams in the seventh and final round to finish seventh .

Awards

Charleston-EFG John Maynard Keynes Prize

Eminent Indian economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has been named as the first winner of a newly established award in the UK, in recognition of his work on welfare economics.

The award involves a sum of 7,500 pounds. He will also give the annual Charleston-EFG Keynes Lecture at the Charleston Festival on May 23, titled ‘The Economic Consequences of Austerity’.

This new global prize will award an individual of any nationality of exceptional and inter-disciplinary talents in the spirit of John Maynard Keynes’ work, life and legacy. Reflecting that legacy, the winner will be widely recognised as having made an outstanding contribution to society through his or her work in economics, the arts, international relations, politics or a combination of these.